Semiautomatic reserve container for liquid tanks



ZMEVAZE Jwfiy Q W35. aw. JOHNSON SEMIAUTOMATIC RESERVE CONTAINER FOR LIQUID TANKS Filed June '7, 1933 "INVENTOE Gemye Wcifiwwon l 5 tainer having a spring actuated valve to normally.

Patented July 9, 1935 SEMIAUTOMATIC RESERVE CONTAINER FOR LIQUID TANKS George W. Johnson, Camden, J. Application June '7, 1933, S erial"N. 674 705 2 Claims. (01. 137-168) f UNITED. STATES PATENT QFE'hCE My invention relates to new and useful improvements in a semi-automatic reserve container for liquid tanks and has for one of its objects to provide a relatively'smallreserve conclose an opening in the bottom thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for holding the valve in an open position after being manually opened.

7 Another object of this invention is to DIOVide float mechanism for automatically actuating the holding means when the reserve container is filled with liquid to release the valve. 7

A further object of the invention is to provide a reserve container provided with an opening in the bottom thereof for liquid to flow into the container, a valve to normally close said opening, said valve being moved to the closed position by a spring and moved into the open position manually, a spring actuated catch to hold the valve in its open position, and fioat mechanism operated by the level of the liquid in the reserve container to release the catch and permit the valve to close when said reserve container is filled, said container remaining filled until such time as the ,contents are needed and the valve is opened manually.

, With these and other ends in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, in which:-

Fig. l is a view of a part of a liquid storage tank partly broken away showing'the reserve container therein which has a portion broken out to illustrate the valve mechanism above referred to and a visible indicator.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the container with portions of the top wall broken away.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of .the parts illustrated in Fig. 2, looking at them the same as shown in Fig. 1, but with the valve open.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In carrying out my inventionas herein embodied, Brepresents a liquid tank of any desir- This'tank'has an outlet (not shown) and also an inlet 6 which may be normally closed by a cap 'l'provided with a'vent. i

Said tank comprises the usual walls, one of which is to be, attached as the finishing operation of the complete tank. Thisattachablewall, for purposeslof illustration, is designated herein as an attachable end wall, 8, shown as welded in place although it may? be otherwise secured. A bracket 9 of suitable or proper length hason'e .end fixed to the attachable wall 8 and'ithe opposite endto the ex'terior of a Wall of the reserve, container). V v V In the bottom of the reserve container is' formed an opening H. which functions both as an inlet and an outlet" and in the top of the container is formed a hole l2 concentric with the opening I I.

Where thejtank El as afiat bottom, the reserve container isprovidedwith buttons or feet I3 to space thebottom of the reserve container fromthe bottom of thelta rllt, but where the latter is of some other shape so that the container can rest on the side walls, for instance, and thereby space the bottombfthe container from the adjacent wall of the tank, the buttons, feet or'lifts are unneces- Tsary. It is essenjtial that the bottom of the container be spacedirom the tank to permita free flow of the liquid inor out of the said container. The, opening I l is controlled by a valve l4 urged toward its closed position by a'spring l5 which engages said valve,.as the movable element, anda guide bracket it, as the stationary element. 'Ihis valve has a valve stem ll which projects through the guide bracket it and the hole 12in the to'p' of reserve'container to a position adjacent the top of the tank 5 in the locality of the tank inlet 5 whereby said stern may be reached through the'inlet 6 to actuate the valve 'manually against the action of the spring l5.

In order to enable a person to open the valve easily, the upper end of the stem may be fashioned into a loop or eye lfijor other equivalent formation, such as a hook. 1 V

On thevalve stem l1 intermediate its ends and within the reserve container, preferably near end uppermost.v Undercertain conditionsthe nose of a catch 28 Will'engage under the larger end of the keeper to temporarily hold the valve M in an open position. I i

, The catch 20 is suitably pivot'edas to hangers 2| dependingfrom' the top of the container and a spring 22 engaging the tail of the catch urges the nose thereof toward the valve stem and the keeper [9 carried thereby. On the tail of the catch is a projection or pin 23 which is in the path of upward travel of the float stem 24 carrying a float 25 on the free end pivoted at 26 to a suitable support or bracket 21, which may be fastened to a side wall of the reserve container, and the pivot means for the catch 20 may also be connected to this support, if desired.

While the hole 12 will vent the reserve container, a hole 28, for this purpose only, can be provided at the top of said container.

Before filling the tank 5, assuming the reserve container is empty, the valve N isopened. As liquid enters the tank it will run through the opening II into the reserve container and cause the float to rise. When the float reaches its uppermost position, the stem 24' thereof will engage the pin 23 on the catch and release the same from the keeper l9 permitting wring 15 to close the valve I4. This will retain the liquid in the reserve container. 7

Should all of the liquid in the storage tank be withdrawn at .any time and it is temporarily impossible to replenish the same, the valve Il may be withdrawn from its seat by lifting the stem l1 which will then-permit the liquid in the reserve container to flow therefrom through the opening ll into the tank. By elevating the parts to a sufiicient height, the catch 20 will engage beneath the keeper and hold the valve open, while the liquid is draining from the reserve container and until said container is refilled during a subsequent filling of the storage tank.

In order that a person may readily ascertain whether or not the reserve tank is full or empty, I may provide said reserve container with a visible indicator or signal in combination with the above described .mechanism for controlling the filling and emptying of said reserve container.

Where the reserve container is to have an indicator, the top wall of said container has a sight opening 28. To the underside of the top wall of the reserve container in the region of the sight opening 28 is pivoted a semaphore 29 as at 30 and said semaphore is provided with certain indication marks 31 and 32, such as empty and full respectively, which will be alternately visible through the sight opening '28 under certain conditions as will be presenthr more fully brought out.

Depending from the underside of the semaphoreare a pair of spaced wings 33 and between which operates a finger 35 carried by the fioat stem 24. Where thesemaphore projects beyond the support 21, the latter has a notch -36 in its upper edge to permit said semaphore to freely swing back and forth.

Assuming that the reserve container is empty, the parts will be as shown in Figs. .2 and -3 and the indication mark 81 will be visibie through the sight open'm'g 28. As said reserve container is filled, the float will rise and the finger '35 will rotate in unison with the rotation of the float stem 24, causing said finger 35 to particularly engage the wing 34 and thus swing the semaphore about its pivot point until the other indication mark 32 moves into alignment with and becomes visible through said sight opening 28, thereby indicating to a person viewing the reserve container through the inlet 6 of the storage tank that said reserve container is full. At the same time the valve mechanism will be operated as hereinbefore explained.

Whenever the valve I4 is opened and the contents of the reserve container drained therefrom, the float will descend and cause the finger 35 to particularly engage the wing 33 on the semaphore and thereby swing said semaphore to the position shown in Fig. 2, so that the indication mark 3| will be visible through the sight opening 28 whereby a person can readily ascertain that the said reserve container is empty. The indicator is a valuable adjunct to the rest of the apparatus, especially where the device is to be used by persons in nowise mechanically inclined, since it gives positive assurance to such persons that the container is empty or full.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described-as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:-

1. A liquid container having an opening in its bottom to function as an inlet and outlet, a valve for closing said opening, a spring to move the valve into its closed position, a stem carried by said valve and projecting through the top of the container whereby said valve may be manually moved into an open position, a keeper on said valve stem within the container, a catch pivoted within the container for cooperation with the keeper toretain the valve in its open position, a spring to urge said catch into engagement with said keeper, a projection extending from one side of the tail of said catch, a float stem pivotally mounted within the container and so located that the projection on the catch is in the path of upward travel of said float stem, and a float on said float stem controlling the movements of said float stem according to the liquid level in the container, said float stem engaging the projection on the catch to trip the latter when the liquid level in the container reaches its highest position for releasing the keeper whereby the valve may be closed by its spring.

2. A liquid container having an opening in its bottom to function as an inlet and an outlet, a guide bracket mounted on the inner surface of a wall of said container and overlying said opening, a valve for closing said opening, a valve stem carried by said valve and slidably mounted in the guide bracket with the upper end of the stern projecting through a hole in the top of the container, a spring coiled about the stem and positioned between the valve and guide bracket tourge said valve toward its closed position, a conical keeper on the stem within the container adjacent the top of said container, hangers carried by the top of the container adjacent the position of the valve stem, a catch pivoted to said hangers and adapted to engage the base of the conical keeper to retain the valve in an open position, a spring to urge the nose of the catch into the path of travel of the keeper, a projection extending from one side of the tail of the catch, and float mechanism within the container to contact the projection and thereby disengage the catch from the keeper and permit the valve to close.

GEO. W. JOHNSON. 

